SITREP Saturday #16: Business as Usual
24 March - Kyzrati
More achievement icons! We've got the final pass on two new categories here.
Special Challenges are probably not quite as obvious...
...whereas Progress-related achievements are more basic and numbery.
I've been talking about achievement "categories" for a while, but haven't gone into detail about what that actually means. Each achievement belongs to a certain category that gives a general idea of what type of achievement it is, determines the color scheme of its icon, and also enables it to be filtered along with others of its category via the in-game UI. There are so many achievements that after I'd formed a tentative list it seemed best to divide them up logically to aid both organization and understanding.
The six achievement categories:
- Mechanics: A group of mostly basic achievements covering common useful tactics and learning about systems. Some of these serve as a way to teach (or at leas reinforce) features, too.
- Style: Specifically play style-related achievements, like combat, stealth, hacking, etc. These are generally earned through normal play using a given style/strategy, and while some might be more challenging or require focus in a certain area, they're not difficult enough to be considered "special challenges " (another category).
- Progress: Personal meta progress like high scores, lore/gallery coverage, and world exploration.
- Challenges: This group doesn't have anything to do with Cogmind's "Challenge Modes," but is simply achievement-specific individual challenges ranging from Tier 1 (not too hard) to Tier 2 (hard) to Tier 3 (pretty hard!).
- Events: Story-related elements. Basically once you've visited every location and exhausted all the branching possibilities of the plot, you'll have all of these. This category is entirely hidden, though, so these aren't achievements to be explicitly sought like a list. You've just gotta explore and use the in-game lore as clues.
- Wins: There are a lot of different ways to win the game, whether achieving unique endings or simply winning by overcoming other challenging scenarios, so these get a whole category of their own.
Death and Taxes
So we've come upon another little speedbump on the way to Beta 6: tax season xD
Taxes have gotten more complicated this year--I have to file in two different countries now, so this'll be annoying. I could try to push Beta 6 out before the second country's deadline, but I'd rather not because the release shouldn't be about just achievements, so it's going to take longer than that!
Just a heads up that there's still lots to do on the list.
P7
I heard from someone this week mentioning that POLYBOT-7 "really helped them understand Cogmind better," so maybe it's worth checking out for that reason, in addition to the fact that it's just an interesting different way to play a modular robot
In case you missed it, I released that game[kyzrati.itch.io] last week for 7DRL.
Since then I've also been working on a proper in-depth postmortem about its development, which you may be interested in checking out seeing as POLYBOT-7 is a very experimental alternative approach to the concept of Cogmind. The first two parts are already on the blog:
There are tons of details and diagrams/images in there--here are some excerpts:
- Part 1: Preparation[www.gridsagegames.com]
- Part 2: First Days with UI, Aesthetics, and Mechanics[www.gridsagegames.com]
The source code evolution of all my projects since 2011, which share the same code
Redesigning Cogmind's UI layout to meet new needs:
Alternative item color schemes:
In related news, one of our Cogmind experts (surprise surprise it was GJ) won P7 on New Game+++++ mode, which requires winning six times in a row, each run harder than the last.
Next time more on achievements, and an introduction to improvements to low-contrast mode.
SITREP Saturday #25: Hacktastic
9 June - Kyzrati
As per the roadmap, the next major feature is robot hacking, and I've finally reached the final stretch of the design phase. Just the design phase!? This is a huge system, and building it for both balance and fun on the first go is going to take some doing. I've already spent more time just designing the system than any other in the game. It's for the better, though--the design seems to be coming along well after all this refining... Soon it'll be time to put it into practice!
I don't have much to share for it yet, except for one of the latest mockups:
This is a rough WIP and could still change alot. (I haven't really spent much time delving into the UI aspect yet, just planning the underlying system and all its related mechanics and capabilities.)
Later I'll be writing a lot about this feature, but don't want to share too much too early--let's wait until things are more certain
In other features, a little glowing `@` marker will pop up to show the direction of Cogmind when offscreen.
No one asked for this, probably because the map will never hop around on its own without your explicit command (and there's also always the commands to recenter the view), but I can see it occasionally being helpful to know this. In particular while working on hacking ideas I saw one new potential situation where it could become useful, so put this system together yesterday.
And as someone who never uses the Evasion window (it's useful! just not the way I play), I needed someone else to remind me that it still contained a modifier for "Cloaking," even though Cloaking Devices were repurposed and based on the actual part name associated with that mechanic it should be called "Phasing," so that's fixed for Beta 7:
Note that as of this week over on our Roguelikes Discord[discord.gg] we now have three #cogmind channels instead of two. There are just too many deep spoilers, too spoilery even for the regular hidden "spoiler" channel xD. This will allow people who don't want to unwittingly learn about all the extended end-game content to still have a place to talk freely about the many other branches.
Painting with ASCII
I finally got a chance to update the online gallery[www.gridsagegames.com] for REXPaint[www.gridsagegames.com], one of my main Cogmind dev tools. If you like Cogmind's aesthetic or other retro-ish art and games, you'll probably like what you see there :D
Some of the newer samples:
Stream of Robots
Having already done a number of Cogmind Beta 6 streams recently (still happy with that Pure Core challenge coming through with a win!) I switched over to do another POLYBOT-7 run, only my second so far... and won again! This time it was New Game+ mode, so harder than last time.
I did a little summary of that[www.gridsagegames.com], including links to the videos if you're interested. (For those of you who haven't heard about it before, POLYBOT-7[kyzrati.itch.io] is my free Cogmind spin-off project.)
I've done "so much" streaming this past month that I got invited to become a Twitch Affiliate. Hahaha... My channel is basically me playing the games I make. Now I just need more games xD. Hm, I've never streamed X@COM[xcomrl.blogspot.com]
Honestly I don't plan to do a ton more streaming or change what I do--I basically stream in a more concentrated burst in the weeks after release, then rest the channel while putting as much time as I can into developing the next release. But hey as an Affiliate I guess we could get a custom emote!
If you'd like to read some more Cogmind-related material, this week for r/RoguelikeDev's latest FAQ Friday I wrote a bit about naming things. (There are a few small spoilers in there, but it mostly avoids spoilery material.)
There may be other relevant discussion of this SITREP on the GSG forums[www.gridsagegames.com].
SITREP Saturday #26: Out with the Old
16 June - Kyzrati
The IDE's wait is over! I'm now back to real coding again. With the new robot hacking system fully designed, this week it was time to actually start building it all.
Last time I shared an initial mockup of the UI layout, which has since changed significantly. It's getting closer to what it'll probably look like, and I noticed it was kinda fun to see how the idea was changing as I played with it, so here it is as a time lapse:
That's still just a mockup--more changes are likely before I piece that bit together. (Also note that as a mockup, the contents themselves will not fully make sense and aren't quite realistic, so don't try to read too much into it)
I haven't needed the UI yet since none of the hacks themselves have been implemented, but the system's foundation is getting pretty solid. First up was adding the new mechanics for getting access to robot hacks in the first place. I'll be covering the system and its design in more detail later on, but know that you'll not have access to most hacks unless you do... this first:
You'll also need to collect this new type of hackware!
Still a long way to go before this collection of features is done, but it'll be worth it.
Seeing as I'm retiring the old robot hacking system, may as well share a shot of its spreadsheet calculations that I used to aid in its design some years ago:
This is common in design, to have spreadsheets where you can enter hypothetical values and see how they affect outcomes. I'm by no means a math whiz, but predictions like this make the testing and balance effort go so much more smoothly. Without something like this, grounding the design in too many guesses would be a recipe for wasted dev time!
The new spreadsheet I've already put together has a larger and more complex data set
PARSE
Many of you are probably aware that the current robot hacking scheme includes a relatively easy command, PARSE, one that I was initially planning to remove under the new system.
I've decided to keep it, while adjusting and improving it at the same time to make it more useful.
It'll still basically open up an extra page of info about the target, and you'll still do it via Datajack, but it'll be both freely available and you'll be able to do it to almost any bot. So my question to you is whether or not there's anything in particular you might want out of this new PARSE data?
I already have a new mockup complete with some fresh ideas of my own that have convinced me it'll be worth keeping, but thought I'd bring it up to see if there's any other input before I work on that.
Markov
There has been some recent talk of putting Cogmind's lore into a markov chain generator to see what kinds of things could result, and although interested I didn't have any time to play with it myself. Then a couple days ago Raine did just that and shared some results with us. Pretty funny stuff...
It's fun guessing where each piece of this new "lore" originated.
That's some nice tech...
And this sounds like a different game entirely xD
Unfortunately some of the others, including some good ones, can't be shared without clearly spoiling parts of the game
Now You Make a Roguelike
Last year on r/RoguelikeDev we held our first annual "Tutorial Tuesday" event, a couple months of weekly assignments for building your own roguelike, along with a primary tutorial to guide complete beginners and also help provide structure for other devs using their own libraries and languages. There were lots of participants and it was a great success.
We're doing it again for 2018!
It starts next week, so if you want to try your hand at roguelike development and need that extra push to help you get started and build momentum, consider joining! It'll take just a day or less of your time each week, and by the end you'll have your own roguelike you can build on :D
Lots of other people will be doing the same steps during the same weeks, so there'll be other devs who can possibly help answer your questions if you have any, and obviously there's the motivation of working on a project alongside a bunch of other people. You can get help on the sub in the upcoming weekly threads, or more immediately via our Roguelikes Discord[discord.gg] in the dev channels.
The schedule and more info can be found in the announcement.
If you don't have a preferred language or library, it'd be a good idea to get a head start on the first week by checking out the python tutorials linked last year. We'll be following a different libtcod tutorial this year, but you'll want to know some of the language first.
Note that libtcod is the library I first used when I began creating roguelikes years ago, and it makes things very easy for you, taking care of all the heavy lifting so you can focus on adding all your cool roguelike ideas :D
There may be other relevant discussion of this SITREP on the GSG forums[www.gridsagegames.com].
65 Robot Hacks
By Kyzrati | Published: August 15, 2018
We’ve already covered the design behind the all-new robot hacking system, and now for the main course: the hacks themselves! The entire initial set is complete and ready for Beta 7, all 65 of them :D
I’ll be talking about most hacks in this post, and you’ll notice their names follow a certain pattern throughout--all composed of two words, a verb followed by a noun, separated by an underscore in between. Essentially “verb_noun.” This style was chosen to clearly distinguish them from machine hacks. By default Cogmind uses a small-caps typeface so this choice may not be apparent right away from the screenshots I use here, nor does it really matter in game, but it matters for discussion outside the game. Using a consistent format will make robot hacks immediately identifiable in conversation, even if someone has never heard of a given hack before.
There are several possible requirements for robot hacks, as described in the previous post. The vast majority of hacks require having both installed a Relay Interface Framework and attached the Relay Coupler applicable for the target class, in addition to of course carrying a Datajack to initiate the hack in the first place.
Robot hack distribution by requirements.
Wherever possible I tried to add some hacks with lower requirements, though again the main point of the system is to give it fairly significant powers, and the only way to justify that is by setting sufficient requirements.
In terms of combat vs. non-combat hacks, the latter are much more plentiful:
Hacks targeting combat bots vs. those targeting non-combat bots (the total does not equal 65 because there is some overlap).
This makes sense simply because there are a larger number of unique non-combat robot classes, and even more so because there’s only so much you can do with combat in particular, at least within the Cogmind framework. Let’s start there…
Combat Hacks
“Combat hacks” refers to those targeting combat bots, even though not all of them are actually aimed at fighting. For design purposes I divided these hacks into groups, helping ensure each hack fit a role and was different enough from others. There are five categories in all:
Distribution of hacks targeting combat robots, by effect category.
I’ll talk about the hacks by category.
Mod
The largest category revolves around simply modifying the target in some way, usually affecting behavior or hit chances (the text here is taken directly from the context help available in game):
This category is almost too large, as some of the hacks overlap a bit, though they still have distinct enough roles that I felt it was worth adding them all anyway to see which ones might get more use. Most of these hacks won’t make sense against weaker enemies, but that’s a standard side effect of Cogmind’s environment--most bots don’t pose much of a threat individually, the threat lies in the composite danger presented by multiple hostiles, even more so if they have different complementary capabilities. Against a stronger enemy, however, it could be worth taking the time to weaken them first, or apply a modification with some other ulterior motive.
- focus_fire: Force system to prioritize attacking Cogmind wherever possible.
- reboot_propulsion: Render propulsion unusable for 15 turns while the control subsystem reboots.
- tweak_propulsion: Rewrite sections of the propulsion control subsystem to permanently halve movement speed.
- scatter_targeting: Offset targeting algorithms to approximately halve their chance of achieving optimal aim.
- mark_system: Mark this bot to make it the most attractive target to all allies, as well as improve accuracy against it by 10%.
- link_complan: Tap into system’s combat decision-making processes in real time, increasing your accuracy and damage against this bot by 25% while also impairing its accuracy against you by 25%.
- broadcast_data: Openly share the local combat network’s defensive coordination values, giving yourself and all allies 25% better accuracy against this and all 0b10 combat bots within a range of 3.
- disrupt_area: Actively interfere with the local combat network’s offensive coordination calculations, reducing the accuracy of this bot by 25%, and that of all 0b10 combat bots within a range of 3.
Groups of weaker enemies are also why some of these hacks come with area effects, to work at addressing the fact that combat hacks against an individual bot may not be worth it compared to simply pulverizing them with a cannon.
Intel
Information gathering accounts for nearly half of all hacks, combat bots or not. Although there are fewer intel options available from combat bots, they still make up a relatively large category and can be quite useful in the right situations:
- find_shortcuts: Reveal and label all hidden doors within a range of 50. (There are a lot of ways to detect emergency access doors, but none with reach like this. Could come in handy in the long run.)
find_shortcuts demo
- find_garrison: Locate the nearest Garrison Access.
- show_paths: Highlight all current patrol squad routes. Only effective when targeting a patrol squad leader. (It will take a observation to identify which squads are considered to be patrolling, much less find a leader, and the route data is only valid while they’re still patrolling it, so I’m not sure how useful this will be in practice, but it looks cool and can also reveal lots of valid pathways in unknown areas of the map so it might catch on. parse_system will help find/teach about patrol squads and leaders.)
show_paths demo (paths glow intermittently, and are always visible while panning the map for easy reference; lines are color coded by squad type, and these records disappear after a while since they only matter for so long)
Damage
- link_fov: Tap into system’s visual feed for 100 turns. Must remain within a range of 20 to maintain the link.
- parse_system: (more on this later)
“Methods to deal outright damage” is a tiny category because merely doing damage doesn’t generally make much sense for a hacker--you either want to take down the target or achieve some other special effect. So even these hacks don’t deal direct damage, but are instead alternatives with their own niche.
- spike_heat: Destabilize power systems to induce a massive surge of heat. (This is essentially a way to instantly get the target ready for meltown, which anyone who knows about thermal transfer from TH weaponry understands that it could start causing all manner of nasty side effects that can even start to compound. Overall it’s a very cheap way to possibly take down a target, if not very reliable because you’re at the mercy of random side effects with this one.)
- overload_power: Cause power source to explode. Process takes 4-6 turns to reach critical point. (The effect is equivalent to EM spectrum chain reactions, and being able to trigger it at will offers a lot of tactical possibilities… Plus it’s just fun. And you’ve gotta time it right
. It’s the readily available AOE time bomb you’ve all been waiting for!)
overload_power demo (also a demonstration of the effectiveness of doing this next to an array of power conduits
Disable
This category’s hacks are akin to mods, but completely disabling systems is often an even stronger effect, though still without doing any actual damage.
Assimilate
- wipe_record: Remove any record of Cogmind from memory, and block new Cogmind records from being created for 10 turns. (This effectively makes you invisible to that robot for a little while, which is pretty cool and unique.)
- disable_weapons: Disable all weapon systems for 20 turns. (There you go, you finally have a way to do this, heh. This has been brought up a few times before by the community with regard to targeting specific systems, though until the new robot hacking there hasn’t been a reasonable way to make it a potentially frequent tactic.)
- reboot_system: Force a complete reboot. The entire sequence requires anywhere from 15 to 25 turns to complete. (The previous system’s good old REBOOT hack is back in its new form, which does… the exactly the same thing
- go_dormant: Wipe memory and force immediate dormant state. (This is a relatively cheap way to permanently remove a target from action, as long a you can get out of view quickly and no one else is around to wake them up. In that way it can be even better than a reboot--it’s a “reboot with a catch.” If you recall, dormant combat bots only have a chance to wake when enemies are in view, or if they’re alerted by another robot.)
Assimilation has always been the highest goal of robot hacking, and while it’ll definitely still be useful, I’m sure it won’t be as desirable as before, or as good as other cheaper hacks that might require more creativity
The latter two hacks were originally named stream_control and format_system, and applied to both combat and non-combat bots, but I later decided it was important (and made sense) for the coupler cost to be cheaper when used against the latter group. It would’ve been possible to simply show and apply a different cost for these hacks depending on the target, but I wanted to remain consistent--one hack, one cost, so I gave them somewhat different names instead. As you’d expect, the other versions end with _low
- overwrite_iff: Trick system into believing it is allied with Cogmind. After 10 turns the network will perform an automated quickboot to restore it to normal, a process which takes anywhere from 5 to 10 turns. (Temporary assimilation combined with a bit of a reboot is probably even better than outright assimilation in many cases--I can see this being popular.)
- streamctrl_high: Hijack the control node to force system to act as an ally. Must remain within a range of 5 to maintain the connection. This bot will follow while in this mode. (An alternative situational assimilation, cheaper than completely assimilating a target, but of course it comes with a bit of a caveat.)
- formatsys_high: Rewrite all system data, permanently converting it into a fully controllable ally. Requires 6 turns to complete the process. (As you can see, the old full-on ASSIMILATE hack is still here, although it’s fairly expensive so you [probably] won’t be raising large armies with it!)
Non-Combat Hacks
Most hacks target non-combat bots, which is more in line with a hacker’s non-confrontational style, using other bots to make exploration or combat easier, or helping avoid the latter altogether. However, the wide variety of hacks also means that just about any kind of player can benefit from at least some of the system, allowing for all sorts of hybrids.
Like the combat hacks, here I’ve broken down non-combat hacks into categories, though note that I only did it for fun/demonstration purposes--it wasn’t part of the design process like it was above.
Distribution of hacks targeting non-combat robots, by effect category.
Understandably intel is by far the largest category, considering there are so many different classes with their own responsibilities and knowledge to “share,” while most other hacks deal with controlling the target and/or their surroundings in some way.
Although normally non-combat bots see Datajack hits as a threat, in cases where a hack is some kind of order they’ll override that reaction and instead do what they’re told.
Even where bots do consider it an attack, or are affected by a hack, there are currently no effects on alert level. This is cool and logical in a hacker sense, though we’ll have to see how abusable it is. That said, by extension hacks don’t score points, either--they’re just recorded in stats as usual. In any case, robot hacking is meant to be pretty good within its niche, since 1) sacrifices need to be made in terms of plot and build, and 2) it only applies to 0b10 bots.
One major area of differentiation between combat and non-combat hacks: the former requires numerous couplers, one for each target type, whereas all non-combat hacks are processed through a single Relay Coupler [NC]. That’s going to be a popular one… (it’s also the most common). If combat hacks were similarly accessible it would trivialize combat and robot hacking strategies, and the system would be less interesting overall.
Just look at all these [NC] robots that can be hacked…
Distribution of robot hacks by non-combat robot class.
Any
Some basic hacks can be used on any non-combat robot, so this category is general purpose stuff which’ll be available almost everywhere.
- no_distress: Prevent this system from generating distress signals.
- generate_anomaly: Induce an energy anomaly resembling a long-range distress signal that will attract nearby patrols and sentries to investigate. Anomaly detectable up to a range of 15.
generate_anomaly demo
Under easier difficulty modes this hack also indicates the positions of robots that will respond to the anomaly.
- generate_echo: Destabilize power systems to generate a wave of energy which can be analyzed to temporarily pinpoint robots at a distance. Beyond a range of 20 the echo becomes too weak to be useful.
generate_echo demo
- start_evac: Instruct system to follow local evacuation protocols by heading to another 0b10-controlled level.
- link_fov, overload_power, streamctrl_low, and formatsys_low are equivalent to the combat hacks.
link_fov demo (blue circles indicate the range outside of which the connection is lost)
Operator
- parse_system: (more on this later)
As the most connected 0b10 class central to operations, Operators make juicy hacking targets. For similar reasons some players like to have one of these following them around as an ally, though the benefits are not identical (in a general sense, robot hacks have more potential because the bot still has greater access to 0b10 systems at the time, unlike once it’s been assimilated).
- check_alert: Query system for current alert level.
- purge_threat: Lower the alert level. (A useful hack, but it’s also the most expensive by far.)
- find_terminal: Locate the nearest Terminal.
- locate_traps: Reveal and mark all traps within a range of 30.
- disarm_traps: Disarm the nearest trap array within a range of 30.
locate_traps/disarm_traps demo
Researcher
- reprogram_traps: Reveal and reprogram the nearest trap array within a range of 30.
- block_reporting: Block ability to report hostiles at a Terminal.
- summon_haulers: Force system’s call for reinforcements to instead redirect any Haulers within a range of 50.
- recall_investigation: Recall the most recently dispatched investigation squad.
- clear_repairs: Clear the sector-wide repair queue and any pending Builder orders.
- clear_recycling: Clear the sector-wide part collection queue and any pending Recycler orders.
Researchers have a lot of options because they know stuff. Stuff you might want to know, too.
Worker
- find_scanalyzer: Locate the nearest Scanalyzer.
- disable_scanner: Permanently disable an active stasis system to prevent scanning and analysis.
- locate_prototypes: Mark all prototypes and alien tech across the map, also providing their IDs.
- report_prototypes: Force system to reveal 10 new prototype IDs.
- report_schematics: Force system to reveal 10 new part schematics.
- report_analyses: Force system to reveal 3 new robot analyses.
K-01 Serfs are all over the place, so it’s nice to have some things to do with these little guys. Hacking them can even be extremely useful…
- find_chute: Reveal and mark the chute this Worker might use if immediately tasked with disposal.
- deconstruct_machine: Dismantle the nearest non-interactive machine.
deconstruct_machine demo (you can also try what happens when they start taking apart an explosive machine)
Hauler
- hold_bot: Latch onto the nearest visible non-prototype 0b10 bot to hold it in place. This task is automatically cancelled after 25 turns.
- start_disposal: Dispose of currently held bot via a chute, if possible. Huge bots are too large to push.
For just being defenseless bots that ferry parts, Haulers have some decent hacking options!
- find_fabricator: Locate the nearest Fabricator.
- drop_inventory: Force a complete inventory dump, fully identifying contents in the process.
drop_inventory demo (sure you could just blow them up, but that’s unreliable and won’t give you the advantage of knowing whether any of the contents are faulty/dangerous!)
Mechanic
- recall_reinforcements: Recall reinforcement squad requested by this Hauler.
- locate_stockpiles: Mark all common part stockpiles.
Mechanics aren’t all that common, but aside from those operating from a Repair Station, assault squads do sometimes have one in tow, which may be a bad idea for them if you’re a hacker
- find_station: Locate the nearest Repair Station.
- release_backups: Force the system to release all backup parts from compressed internal storage.
release_backups demo
Watcher
- deconstruct_bot: Disassemble the nearest allied visible non-huge non-prototype 0b10 bot into its constituent parts.
Hacker’s paradise when it comes to intel. I mean, that’s their job, right?
- map_route: Show scan information from along this Watcher’s patrol route. (While it’s possible to get unlucky and find a Watcher with a really short route, this hack can also be a gold mine of info.)
map_route demo (finds an exit)
map_route demo (here hacking from the middle of its route, and labeling discovered items)
map_route demo (tiles)
- mark_security: Mark all active security positions within a range of 40.
- relay_feed: Permanently hook into the sensor feed system, receiving scan data transmissions from up to a range of 20 from Watcher’s position. (Basically you get a remote Sensor Array, pretty good if you don’t have one of your own, and even better if it’s a high-level watcher.)
relay_feed demo
Protector
Protectors are generally only found supporting assaults, and all they really have to their name are shields, so…
Engineer
- disable_shields: Permanently disable an active shield or force field system.
- redirect_shields: Permanently reprogram defensive system to protect yourself and allies from attacks, instead of Protector’s allies. (This one’s more expensive, but if you and/or allies are close enough to take advantage of it, it’s a pretty nice buff for you plus debuff for enemies. Remote force fields are really annoying to fight through, so you want them on your side.)
No you’re still not allowed to build new walls, sorry
- ignore_repairs: Block system messages regarding the repair queue.
- map_walls: Reveal all walls and emergency access points within a range of 25.
map_walls demo
Tunneler
T-07 Excavators generally hang out at lower depths where you won’t be doing much robot hacking anyway, but just in case…
- randomize_corridors: Permanently add new paths to the local complex layout. (This is one of the few hacks I don’t think will be very useful, but added it anyway just to give them something extra related to their regular tasks.)
- map_earth: Reveal all earth within a range of 25.
map_earth demo
Recycler
Cogmind’s #1 annoying bot can now also be dealt with by hacking it directly, though there are already other pretty effective methods of handling them (like just shooting
Compactor
- find_recycling: Locate the nearest Recycling Unit.
- ignore_parts: Block system messages regarding the part collection queue.
Hackers ain’t afraid of no Crushers! A single [NC] coupler is enough to pacify an entire Waste sector’s worth of these menaces (and you normally don’t need to confront nearly that many on your way out).
- ignore_targets: Block system messages regarding waste processing targets.
ignore_targets demo
And with that we’ve covered all 65 hacks, except for that one…
Universal Hack
The combat and non-combat lists above both refer to “parse_system,” a special hack that works on any bot, even non-0b10 bots. All it takes is a Datajack to access it, and it’ll always appear when hacking bots, just like the Manual command.
PARSE was available under the old system, although never really used. I had originally added it mainly for fun, thinking it might eventually become something, and now it has! For one it gives more details than it used to, including info about the AI, squads, and more.
parse_system demo (multiple)
But the most tangible advantage is the fact that it both lists all parts attached to the bot, identifies them all even if unknown or prototypes, and even adds them to your gallery if not already there! This will be a new non-evil method to get records for some of those cool parts your friends and/or NPCs are using without, you know, murdering them
By extension, using a Datajack on a friendly will no longer be considered a hostile action, allowing you to parse them, too.
In the past completing the full item gallery required either straight up killing your friends (preferably with weapons that increase salvage rates), or getting really lucky and not only meeting valuable allies but having them be killed and drop their special gear for you. Some people understandably disliked the former for roleplay reasons, and the latter isn’t really a feasible long-term approach given how many rare allies and parts there are.
Balance
Last time I talked about one of the first important elements of balance: access to Relay Couplers. The other main one would be the cost of the hacks themselves.
I only made a few references to cost above, though obviously these values will factor highly in terms of each hack’s relative strategic applications. Hacks can range anywhere from free to consuming an entire Coupler in one go, so for reference I’m posting my design spreadsheet used to set the costs in the first place.
Combat hacking Coupler costs. You can see how they’re divided into the categories described earlier.
I start with the number of hacks I think is reasonable for a single coupler, and it calculates the rest automatically so that things are quick and easy to adjust. Costs have changed a bit as I worked through the implementation process, and will likely see some more adjustments in the future, but this is a good starting point.
Here’s the cost info for all non-combat hacks:
Non-combat hacking Coupler costs.
For fun you can compare to the design spreadsheet for the old pre-Beta 7 robot hacking system, which was much more complex, and because it’s based on a percentage system isn’t very reliable--players would only bother with it if they could reach near or at 100% on their desired hack!
Pre-Beta 7 robot hacking system design spreadsheet.
We went from 5 hacks straight to 65
Limited Edition Holiday Mode 2018
20 December - Kyzrati
While the great Beta 8 is still under construction, in the meantime I have something else special for you! In fact a lot of special stuff...
Effective immediately through January 1st, 2019, every day Cogmind will feature different new content, much of it with a notably holiday theme. There are 17 new unique parts, among other "gifts" :D
Unlike my normal announcements I won't be listing the content or showing any screenshots/gifs here to spoil it, but there's some really fun stuff (including new mechanics). Some of the content is randomized in case you start more than one run in a single day, though the majority of the brand new stuff is organized and defined by date. All of the special Holiday Mode content is available right from the beginning of a run though, so there's no going out and searching for it--start up and see it right away.
Much of the content for this update is actually special parts that will only exist for this release, accompanied by a number of rare or unique items that can be found elsewhere in the world of Cogmind but that you may not have encountered before. You'll be able to distinguish between the two because the former don't have unique art, instead using a common placeholder (you'll know it when you see it
Technically you can skip ahead in this event by changing your system date, but in the manner that we normally treat spoilers in the community, if you do this please don't openly share advance info on future content with others in case they don't want to know yet.
Technical Points
- This version's saves are not compatible with the original Beta 7.2 (the save version had to be increased in order to allow this update to add a bunch of content). As usual you can just finish your current run before updating, or if on Steam and it automatically updated yours you can use the legacy branches to roll back and finish your previous save/run first if you like (or do it later).
- You CAN earn achievements while this mode is active! This might be another reason to play it
- Holiday Mode does not upload scoresheets (these runs will therefore not appear on the leaderboards).
- Holiday Mode is incompatible with challenge modes (if any are active, the challenge takes precedence).
- Holiday Mode ignores the advanced quickStart option.
- Holiday Mode will automatically activate for new runs started in this 12/20~1/1 period, but requires that you've played at least 10 runs before! We wouldn't want to confuse new players too much
- If it's activating automatically but you want to play "regular Cogmind" during this event period, run the game with the "-noHoliday" parameter to turn it off (or, again, roll back to the previous release via its legacy branch).
Limited Edition
You may notice the version number is still Beta 7.2. That's because this special release was developed using a completely separate branch of the game, as this allowed me to prepare this for you all very quickly without worrying about taking my normal (internal) steps to future proof the whole thing with good documentation and clean code. Despite the amount of stuff in here, it only took a day and half
So this is technically not the same branch that Beta 8 is being built upon, and this content and other related changes made to the game to support it will disappear with the next release. There is no changelog--as far as future players are concerned, it never happened
Tips
The opening area might be a bit overwhelming. To quickly get set up, you could follow these general steps:
- Open up everything you see
- Attach any alien artifacts (these are consumables)
- Fill your power and propulsion slots (try to avoid using airborne propulsion, though you can stash it away for later)
- Attach any Storage Unit(s)--there'll be at least one lying around (and maybe a special one!)
- Collect most utilities and weapons (especially any that are clearly new and use the placeholder "holiday art" I mentioned earlier)
- Go have fun!
Note that a small portion of the items may not be amazing, since those are randomly chosen from among existing items, but a lot of the items for each day were handpicked, especially all the special new ones.
Thanks for being a great community, enjoy the holidays :D
Cogmind goes P̶a̶y̶2̶W̶i̶n̶ "Pay2Buy"
1 APR @ 2:27AM - KYZRATI
!!! ALERT: SPECIAL MODE DETECTED !!!
It's that time of year again, when all sorts of fake things appear on the internet... But I've become a fan of using this opportunity to make crazy unprecedented things that are true, so Cogmind is going P̶a̶y̶2̶W̶i̶n̶ Pay2Buy! Well, for a day, anyway
Get the latest Cogmind update and fire it up on April 1st, and anyone who's past the tutorial starts and has been playing the regular game will automatically have new runs start in Pay2Buy mode!
I'll talk about that more below, but unlike last year's event, I've combined this one with an actual release, which includes a number of fixes for Beta 8, as well as some balance-related tweaks. There's also a bit of new content as well:
Cogmind Beta 8.1 "Pay2Buy" (0.10.190401) changelog:
- NEW: Unique AFD mode for 2019, automatically activates on 4/1 for anyone who has played at least three runs
- NEW: 1 new unique superweapon
- NEW: Special NPC encounter under certain circumstances
- NEW: Additional improvements to reduce turn delay when holding wait key or moving at extremely high speeds
- NEW: Command line argument "-forceAFD2019" to enable the AFD mode from 2019, regardless of system date
- NEW: Command line argument "-forceAFD2018" to enable the AFD mode from 2018, regardless of system date
- NEW: [AFD 2019] Includes a special interface for "purchasing" items with CogCoins, an event-specific mechanic
- NEW: [AFD 2019] Earn CogCoins by raising the alert level
- NEW: [AFD 2019] Other event-specific mechanics
- NEW: [AFD 2019] Score sheets include list of all purchased items at the end
- NEW: Any AFD mode scores can now be uploaded as well for aggregate stats and potential special leaderboads, but are still excluded from main leaderboards
- NEW: Added Phase Armor and Phase Redirector mechanics to manual's Attack Resolution section
- NEW: List of patrons added via Credits menu
- MOD: Tweaked various Exiles scenario reactions
- MOD: Master Thief behavior changed to make them more dangerous
- MOD: New internal turn system, harder to game for free peeking around corners
- MOD: Dropped items/salvage allowed to fall to other side of map exits (on same map)
- MOD: Overloaded Fabricator effects no longer count as Cogmind kills, or for alert purposes
- MOD: Signal Generator only works in 0b10-controlled areas
- MOD: Firepult damage reduced
- MOD: Keyboard's Pause key no longer has an effect
- MOD: Alpha Supporters shortcut command changed from '0' to '9'
- MOD: Lore no longer has '9' as an optional shortcut (access via Records page)
- MOD: AFD runs no longer added to scorehistory.txt
- FIX: An active Stasis Generator brought into a new map has no effect unless toggled off and on again [Joshua]
- FIX: Ejecting couplers from certain unlocked Garrison Access instead destroys them [Joshua]
- FIX: "Batter Up" achievement description did not specify melee impact damage only, despite kinetic cannons now being capable of knockback as well [Joshua]
- FIX: Gallery CSV/HTML exports were missing a header for the new propulsion Drag stat [Mx. Eldritch]
- FIX: Rare crash on an allied Mechanic seeking a repair target after robot it was following is destroyed [Horse]
- FIX: In rare layouts a special hidden area of a certain map might be slightly disconnected from the rest of the map [8fpsbossfight]
- FIX: Possible to crash the UI by switching into the game menu extremely quickly while also switching pages [geedmat, Horse, 8fpsbossfight]
- FIX: Crash on hitting a controllable ally with a Field Lobotomy Kit [ApolliniaD, alice_fexa]
- FIX: Manual seeds could be applied incorrectly in some cases, resulting in different seeds producing the same world [Suslik]
- FIX: Combining any Thermal Generator and Cryofiber Web could show a net negative energy readout in HUD, even though still positive [lsend]
- FIX: Advanced flashProjectileVictims option could in some locations cause flashes outside of combat as well [Puzzlebark]
- FIX: Integrity Redistributor could result in the wrong effect if core integrity near 50% of a total value greater than 1000 [mtf]
- FIX: Crash on accessing the Z-Roster if earlier on same map summoned a hero and in the turn immediately afterward a new hero was added to roster [Rumbl3]
- FIX: Fixing a separate issue in previous release broke schematic list highlighting while hacking a Fabricator [Malthusis]
- FIX: Typo [mindcog]
- FIX: Scrollable lists containing multiple keyboard ASCII colors may not align properly with list items when more than 26 items, after scrolling
- FIX: Hacking Prototype ID Banks did not immediately update identified inventory items if any happen to be matching unknown prototypes
- FIX: Multiple Stasis Generators being used at once may not always remain active depending on relative toggle states
Pay2Buy
AFD 2018 was a last-minute joke implemented and deployed in just an hour on 2018.4.1. This year I put a good bit more time into it, spending several days over the past week building some new UI features, designing and balancing systems, and surprisingly increased Cogmind's core code base by 0.6% for Pay2Buy alone (excluding all the other work that went into bringing you Beta 8.1).
So what's this mode all about...
The Cogshop is open for business! No, this isn't the Merchants Guild expansion I've touted as one of my Patreon goals[www.patreon.com], it's a new AFD mode that significantly changes the Cogmind experience.
Skip this section if you want to go in blind, or read on for more details.
In Pay2Buy mode there are no parts lying around, and no salvage from kills, either. In a few very rare cases items may still be available via the usual special means, e.g. Relay Couplers, but for the most part you'll have one source of new parts: the Cogshop.
Access the shop by clicking on the Buy button in the bottom-left corner, or via the number '0' on your keyboard. There is no item info available for shop items--there wasn't enough time to add that, although I did add the short item stat summary after each one so you can reference that to help make purchasing decisions.
Earn CogCoins by doing almost anything that raises alert, i.e. get in fights -> earn coins -> buy parts -> get in more fights (or go around sabotaging machinery as your source of revenue
Eventually you might notice there's a bit of a market economy going, with you as its only customer
There are also Loot Boxes! Because of course there are
Interestingly the Pay2Buy experience is kinda like typical character creation at the beginning of a run, as well as ongoing throughout the run, only with even more control than you normally have. It's a pretty unique Cogmind experience :D
As for other AFD-related tweaks, you do not have access to any Storage Units, but start with teninventory slots for free, instead of the usual four. Your score sheet at the end of the run will include a full list of all of your purchases, and the prices you paid. And in a very first for one of our Cogmind special events, score sheets can actually be uploaded! (assuming you have the option enabled) Of course they won't be included in the regular leaderboards, but Pay2Buy runs could get their own dedicated event leaderboard, at least for those who play in the near term.
AFD 2019 normally autoactivates for new runs on 4/1, but if you want to play on another day, rather than having to change your system time like before, I've added a new option you might prefer, the "-forceAFD2019" command line parameter. (In Steam this is Cogmind > Properties > Set Launch Options...) If you don't want to play this special mode on 4/1, the "-noAFD" switch will block it.
Still Exiled
Beta 8.1 brings with it a fair number of Exiles tweaks, if you remember them from their explosive Beta 8 debut
Yes, as many in the community feared, I did nerf their Firepult just a bit, but it's still an amazing and terrifying weapon. More importantly, Master Thieves are a good bit scarier now. They're still a challenge that can be overcome, but... you really would do better to not attract them in the first place. (I also changed up the dialogue just bit so that it makes sense they can still come after you if you went all evil murderer in the lab.)
You know that scenario where the Exiles have prematurely departed? Well there's a new potential reward in that case, and a clue about where to get it...
There were various other EX tweaks as well, mostly small stuff.
8.1 Miscellany
One of the other big changes under the hood is probably not so big to most players, but the entire turn system has been replaced with a new type of queue. I'll be covering this more on the dev blog later, but the main impetus was to prevent free corner peeking, which a tiny handful of players were taking advantage of as an optimal tactic made possible by gaming the original turn time system. Now the system is more fair, and directly related to movement speed, rather than specifically when during a turn the move action is taken.
In the process of making the above change I also optimized the turn queue handling, which will speed up the game by up to 10% in some scenarios.
Behind the Scenes
Beta 8.1 includes a bunch of fixes, as usual (mostly to new stuff), and as part of my debugging work I finally added an engine-level visualization so I could see which subconsole is currently receiving mouse hover messages:
This helped track down a particular new bug that wasn't highlighting the current schematic at a Fabricator, for example:
It turns out this bug was caused by a separate Beta 8 fix for a completely unrelated issue xD
On the blog I've shared an addendum to my level design article[www.gamasutra.com], this one discussing how I approach layout planning for procedural maps[www.gridsagegames.com], with an eye towards level design goals.
[www.gridsagegames.com]
Another addendum, looking at the usage of static, procedural, and hybrid maps, is currently available to patrons here[www.patreon.com].
In good hardware news, I successfully cleaned out my dev laptop, as well as recovered all parts taken by Recyclers that escaped from the Cogmind source in the process.
(I shared the process on Twitter.)
Community
Zyalin has shared some cool new fan art, this piece titled "Storage Jammin'"
It depicts a beat up Cogmind build rampaging through Storage, indeed a dangerous map with very tight confines. Also of course there are friendly drones nearby
JackNine did another cogmic in his style:
Over on the forums muxecoid started a poll for the most hated combat enemy class, and Hunters won by a fair margin. Swarmers came in second place.
Although there's no "official" support for it beyond answers I hand out when interested people occasionally ask about superficial mod support, a number of people have actually modded Cogmind. Most recently Ape3000 has shared their mod that mixes ASCII with graphical walls from the tileset. Here's a sample of how that looks:
As for myself, on my Twitch channel[www.twitch.tv] I've been streaming a bunch of 7DRLs for reviewing lately, but will get back to Cogmind soon. In fact, it won't be this week because I have family visiting, but next week we're gong to play with Pay2Buy mode! As usual the videos will be up on YouTube afterwards.
Patreon
Patreon[www.patreon.com] is going okay, the one I announced last time as part of the Future of Cogmind update.
So far patrons have been submitting suggestions for my Cogmind TODO list prioritization[www.patreon.com], to decide which major QoL system they'd like to fund for Beta 9, and also more recently for the new item/mechanic[www.patreon.com] they'd like to see in the next release. These things are collaborative so we'll be doing some voting in April.
What's Up Next?
Well my near-term plans have somewhat changed due to this whole Pay2Buy event. I was originally planning to release a Beta 8.1 with fixes and some new hacking content, but Pay2Buy got big enough that it pushed back the other stuff (and 4/1 is a hard and fast deadline, after all xD), so my earlier 8.1 plans are likely being folded into Beta 9 instead (along with all the other Beta 9 stuff).
So the next release will likely be Beta 9, though it's too early to say when that'll happen since there's a lot to do. That said, Beta 8.1 is pretty big for a "minor" release, and the new mode adds yet another layer of replayability, so I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks of it.
Enjoy!
Beta 8.1 saves are not compatible with previous versions, but even if you're on Steam and Cogmind automatically updates, Beta 8 is still available via its own legacy branch and you can roll back to finish a run in progress first if you like.
SITREP Saturday #47: Under Siege
Introducing siege mechanics, greatly expanded scoresheets, more QoL features, rebranded difficulty modes, and more art!
Siege mode is here! Wait what? Siege mode?
Yeah, this concept kinda came out of nowhere because suggested by patrons who came up with a bunch of ideas and voted on the new mechanic they wanted to see in Cogmind. The full list and voting results are here:
I like the idea of having a "siege mode" for treads since we already have conditional "overloaded" functionality with some other propulsion, but before now treads didn't have this and it provides new tactical options depending on your situation and capabilities.
In short, you exchange your mobility for combat buffs, becoming immobile but gaining bonuses to accuracy and coverage, with even some damage resistance.
Here's a demo of some of the relevant interface bits, showing how it takes time to enter/exit the mode (and during that transition you're more vulnerable):
And yes there's cool transformation sfx when you fully enter siege mode
There'll be a blog post that goes into more detail about the design process behind siege mode, all of the mechanical aspects, and even a discussion of the tactical implications, but I'm still working on that so I'll link to that in the next announcement.
This week I did already start streaming a new run using a nearly-complete version of Beta 9 to show off some of the latest features, including siege mechanics! So naturally it's a heavy combat run, that in combination with a so-called "crit-stacking" offense, which I've wanted to try for a while, and now is a good opportunity because enemy crit immunity has temporarily (?) been toned down for Beta 9 as an experiment.
YouTube™ Video: [Stream] Cogmind siege tread mechanics and heavy combat (part 1)
Views: 239
Beta 9 is almost complete, and the latest new mechanic to try out is Siege Mode! So this new run is focused around heavy combat--getting away with maximum destruction and minimum pain (okay there was...
Part 2 will be coming next week.
The Good Stuff
Also as voted for by patrons (albeit from a list of potential features I provided) manual hack autocompletion got an overhaul to bring its behavior more in line with regular editor consoles, including even a selection menu to see the available options.
And my favorite part: it even works with schematics, listing all those valid at the current machine given the current depth, with partial name matching of course, and tab autocompletion.
On the part management QoL side of things, in order to facilitate swapping back and forth between two parts (which some people like to do before/after combat with certain builds), after a part swap between the inventory/attached lists, those two parts are remembered ("paired") so if you want to swap back that's always possible via the 'Y' menu option:
Here's a demo of the autopair swap feature in action:
And I don't imagine it'll get a lot of use but it was one of those "do it because I can" things: All remembered autopairs can be swapped simultaneously if you really want to!
The Unbroken Stuff
I've already fixed all the known bugs from Beta 8--it's been a while so a lot of little things had piled up, but as always part of getting the next major release out the door means cleaning up any reports from the previous one!
The Terrain Scanner activation animation was unintentionally revealing the positions of traps via little blips. In fact, it was technically also revealing some internal script trigger points as well, which was how one player first discovered this! And then another player on Twitter mentioned that they thought the trap revealing was a feature xD. No this is totally not a feature, please use the other available means to detect traps rather than this rather tedious and non-Cogmind-like method! You see the blips in there?
Oops, the scanning list was revealing non-scannable prototypes by color even when unidentified. Fixed:
The Random Stuff
Lots of other little improvements here and there as well as I cleared out my TODO list for this release.
Inventory type-wise and mass-wise sorting also subsort by integrity
Parts ejected by machines now push away other parts, rather than rolling the ejected part over others.
Prop explosion data now shown in the scan window, making this more apparent without having to open the info window.
And we can always use new explosions.
30,000 Data Points? Yes, Please!
You know how Cogmind's extensive scoresheets have always contained hundreds upon hundreds of data points to paint a fairly detailed account of that run's highlights? Well let's multiple that by... a lot.
The scoresheet format has been revamped in a big way, reorganizing all those many stats into more (and better) categories, adding a range of entire new categories, and significantly enhancing each scoresheet's ability to paint a clear picture of the run with history logging, automated build class identification, an ASCII map of the final surroundings, and even separating all those data values out into their per-map stats!
I've given this topic new "meta feature" in-depth coverage on the dev blog, writing a massive dedicated 4-part series on it, and as you'd expect, each article is packed with samples, diagrams, and detailed explanations.
Building the Ultimate Roguelike Morgue File, Part 1: Stats and Organization - Examining the process of developing Cogmind's scoresheet and its content as it evolves into its final form.
Building the Ultimate Roguelike Morgue File, Part 2: ASCII Maps - Designing the ASCII map style for Cogmind's new scoresheets.
Building the Ultimate Roguelike Morgue File, Part 3: Mid-run Stat Dumps - Why and how I'm including accessible character dumps in Cogmind, including automated build classification and a situation analysis system.
The Ultimate Roguelike Morgue File, Part 4: History Logging - Exploring the structure and content of full-run history logs as a way to record notable events in a roguelike.
While on the subject of blogging, I wrote another article about Special Game Modes in a Roguelike Context, talking about stuff like their value and types.
Hard Still Means Hard
Another big change coming to Cogmind is the rebranding of difficulty modes, which I hope will help a lot of people. No more automatically defaulting to the hardest mode and calling the other two options "easier" and "easiest"--from now we have Explorer, Adventurer, and Rogue!
A lot of people don't even realize Cogmind has difficulty modes, and has for a couple years now, so that option will be front-loaded into a new menu seen the first time the game is run, before even the title screen:
Explorer/Adventurer modes even come with a convenient quicksave/load system, which I hope will help a lot of people better enjoy the game (Rogue mode will continue to enforce permadeath).
There is of course a blog post on this change, Rebranding Difficulty Modes, talking about design, reasoning, and player expectations. Another one specifically about the save/load feature will be coming as well!
Flying and Hacking
...
Zyalin drew our late-game build there <3
And at one point earlier in the run I was also crazy enough to continue along with rather high corruption and ended up causing a misfire to destroy the exact thing I was after--Zyalin sketched that scene, too xD
Of Course We Have More Art
Zyalin drew Tone's massive-storage late-game bothacking borg build, with allies in tow.
He also drew this...
...which makes more sense when you learn where it came from, the time in chat where I was fooling around with making Cogmind a 2x2 bot by changing a single value in the game, and... it actually sorta worked and was playable though the sprite became a conglomeration of several other non-combat bots as well!
Zyalin's imagining of a "combat version" of that particular NPC everyone loves to murder for their amazing hackware.
And I really love this piece, a huge thief-inspired bot that rips parts off:
Zyalin has finally set up a website for his fan art of various games, including Cogmind, so if you want to see some of his other great work, and a lot of his past Cogmind pieces, check that out here. (Today's opening art is also a work by Zyalin, giving his impression of siege treads)
PlasticHeart, originator of the idea of "cogmics" (the 4-panel Cogmind comics now created by a number of players) has also collected a bunch of their past work on a new DeviantArt page here.
For his own "work of art," in July JakeThyCamel announced he'd been doing some wonderful work on an online HTML-based version of Cogmind's manual, filled with links and supporting screenshots. The conversion isn't quite complete (I'll bring it up again when it's done), but it's definitely getting there and worth checking out.
Oh look, there's some of my art, too. Stuff coming to a Beta 9 near you
Platforming
If you hadn't hear, this week Steam launched the new Library beta, and for that purpose all us devs had to make new assets to fit the new format. So if you opt into the beta you'll notice a couple things, one being the fact that quite a few devs have not updated their assets so the games don't show up very well, but assuming you own Cogmind you get to see this new box art in action :D
I made this and other new stuff a few months back when Steam first announced the upcoming changes, then totally forgot about it. It wasn't until players started showing me the game standing out in their libraries that I realized it was live
More recently I certainly remember the headache of suddenly having to go back through and migrate old announcements to the new system because I couldn't live with Steam automatically classifying all of Cogmind's previous updates as "small patches"
Here's a couple excerpts from the editing view when I was working on that:
I'm quite happy that Steam integrated Proton and for a while now it's become even easier for Linux players to enjoy Cogmind via Steam Play. Cogmind is now rated Platinum in ProtonDB, so keeping the software super minimal and fixing those Wine-specific issues was definitely worth it
In less good news, the newest macOS is dropping support for 32-bit apps, which will mean those on the new system might have a harder time running Cogmind. I believe it'll technically still be possible, but you'll have to approve it or something like that? Or maybe because Mac users are already running it under some form of emulator anyway it might work? Not really sure about these things I guess we'll see.
Wizardry on the Horizon
Beta 9 is coming.
No date for you yet, but the only feature remaining before it can be released is the database and leaderboards side of things,
and while not every one of its features needs to be ready immediately, 1) it's important to lay a good foundation and 2) the basic version definitely needs to be functional for the Beta 9 release because I want to see the initial usage of the rebranded difficulty modes given the new menu and related features.
I can't be too sure about the timeline because I have someone else helping build it--I normally work alone but this is outside my area of expertise so that wasn't really an option here if I wanted it done well
In any case, regardless of when Beta 9 is done, a longer dev cycle just means more time to throw in extra little features and content before it's out!
A note about SITREPs: These are occasional progress updates where I share features coming to the next release, but that aren't actually in game yet. Public releases get their own dedicated news announcement and changelogs/release notes, for example with Beta 7 and Beta 8.
